Taken
by bellaledrid
Summary: Felicity is kidnapped by Slade Wilson in an attempt to destroy Oliver. Can Oliver find her in time before Slade kills her, or will he be too late?
1. Gone

Felicity winced as she woke up, her head throbbing. Everything was blurry and she felt blindly for her glasses on her beside table. Except she couldn't find them. Not her glasses or the bedside table. She sat up slowly, ignoring the pounding in her head. She looked around as best as she could. From what she could make out, she as in a basement of some kind. The room was bare except for a set of stairs in the corner and the bed she was laying on. What little light there was came from an overhead lamp that looked at least 10 years old.

Felicity tried to piece together what she could remember. She remembered going to work at Queen Consolidated. Eating Lunch at Big Belly Burger with Oliver and Diggle. She remembered heading to the Foundry and Oliver going on patrol. Nothing unusual about what she could recall; a typical day for her. And then it hit her, she didn't remember ever getting home.

Working for the Arrow had given her a pretty good understanding of kidnapping situations. Hell, this wasn't even the first time she had been kidnapped. This was however, the first time she had no idea where she was, the first time she had no idea where Oliver was. How long had she been missing? Had anyone even noticed she was gone? Oliver would surely notice when she didn't show up for work the next day. She felt her ear and sighed in relief when she found her industrial piercing still in place. Mentally thanking Oliver for insisting that she carry a tracker at all times, she sat back on the bed, leaning against the wall and waited for Oliver to rescue her.

She sat there for a while, staring out into the blurry room wishing she had her glasses. She thought about al the tings she had to to when she got back to work. It was a good way to pass the time; she had a lot to do. She was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of a key turning in a lock. She shuffled back to the corner of the bed, trying to get as far away from whoever was coming through the door.

Heavy footsteps clumped down the stairs and she was faced with a tall, broad man with an eye patch and a sword strapped to his back.

"You're awake." The man answered with an Australian accent. "Good."

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Felicity asked, trying to ignore the slight fear in her voice.

"Name's Slade Wilson." He said gruffly, taking a few steps towards her. She shrunk back as much as possible, determined to keep as much distance between her and the Australian as she could. "And you're here because I intend to destroy everyone and everything Oliver Queen loves, starting with you."

She screamed as he lunged forward and dragged her off the bed.


	2. Lost

Oliver wandered out of the elevator fully expecting an angry Felicity waiting to berate him on his tardiness. To his surprise the floor was devoid of life. Felicity's desk was bare; phone, tablet, no coat over the back of her chair. The ever-present coffee mug that Felicity always filled as soon as she entered the building was missing as well.

Baffled, Oliver stepped into his office and messaged the front desk asking if Felicity had left a message there. Not that he expected one. She was rarely late, and when she was, she usually messaged him directly. He tried calling her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Not exactly a red flag, though it was rare for Felicity not to pick up. He sat down and tried to make sense of the reports left on his desk, deciding that if she wasn't here by lunch her would stop by her house.

His morning was predictably useless. Without Felicity, he barely understood a fifth of what was written in the reports, let alone what he was supposed to do with the information. When Diggle came up with lunch her asked if her had heard from Felicity.

"I assumed she was up here with you." Diggle replied. "Haven't seen or heard form her this morning."

"I got here at 10, and it doesn't look like she was here before that. She didn't answer the phone either." Oliver said, worried about his Girl Wednesday. "Let's swing by her place."

"She's probably just got the flu."

"Probably, but I'm not taking the chance."

Oliver picked up his jacket and headed for the the elevator, not waiting to see if Diggle was following him. As he stood in the elevator, he couldn't help the sense of dread that filled him; the feeling that something was very wrong and that Felicity was caught up in it. He barely registers the elevator stopping at the garage level or the journey to Felicity's apartment. Nothing seemed out of place from the outside, but that didn't slow Oliver down as he ran up the steps and rang the bell.

No answer.

He tried again. Nothing.

Agitated, he headed down the alley to the side of her apartment building and climbed the fire escape, ignoring Diggle's protestations about being seen. Once he reached the 4th floor, he peered into Felicity's bedroom window. Empty. He hooked the latch on her window that never fully locked (something that had been a constant source of argument between the them over her safety) and slipped inside. He wandered through her apartment, pausing to look at the picture frame on the shelf beside the TV. It held a photo of the three of them; Felicity, John and himself. Carly had taken it when they hadn't been looking at Big Belly Burger. It was one of the only pictures of himself since returning from the island that he liked.

Pulling away, he forced himself to check the rest of the apartment. Felicity wasn't here. Didn't look like she had been here recently either. No coffee mugs in the sink, the bathroom showed that the shower was bone dry, unused today. Another quick sweep revealed no phone or car keys. Either she had left early this morning without a shower or coffee; very unlikely if you knew anything about Felicity, or she hadn't been home last night.

Climbing back down the fire escape he met Diggle with a solemn look on his face.

"She's no here and it doesn't look like she came home last night."

"Can't see her car anywhere around here." Diggle added. He was starting to think Oliver was right. Something was wrong. "Foundry?"

"Yeah." Oliver confirmed. "No point going back to QC anyway. Felicity's the one that runs the place really."

"You say that like it's a secret." Dig chuckled.

They got their first piece of evidence that Felicity was in danger when they spotted her Mini in the car park of Verdant, keys in the ignition.

"Pull up the camera footage from last night." Oliver commanded as he ran down the stairs into the Foundry.

"You do realise that I'm not Felicity, so that might take a few minutes."

"Just do it!" Oliver shouted. Taking a breath, "Sorry, John. Just please do it."

"One day you're going to admit how much you love her." Diggle said, before adding quietly, "Although, knowing you, it will be another three years at least. Maybe it will even be declared a national holiday." The look on Oliver's face showed that he had still been hears. Sighing, John headed over to Felicity's computers and booted them up. She had made their most-used programs easily accessible for Oliver and John in case she was ever unavailable.

The footage showed Felicity leaving the Foundry at 1:47am and heading to her car. A large figure moved out of the darkness, bashing her head against her car door before picking her up and carrying her to a van. John ran the plates, but they came back stolen over a year ago. He had no luck on face-recognition as the guy had been wearing a black and orange mask.

"Go back." Oliver instructed and Dig reviewed the footage again, looking for anything useful. He sound the video back and pressed play.

"I know that mask." Oliver said, turning to pace the Foundry mats before punching the training dummy hard several times.

"What do you know?"

"A man I was marooned with on Lian Yu wore a mask like that. I thought he was dead." Oliver's mind was drawn back to Slade and the island. "He was a friend at one point. He was driven mad by the loss of the woman he loved; Shado, and a drug called mirakuru. He blamed me for Shado's death and I ended up driving an arrow through his eye. Clearly he survived."

"What would he want with Felicity?" Diggle asked.

"Nothing good."


	3. Hurt

Felicity fought as Slade dragged her across the room by her ponytail. She tried kicking him, punching him, but it did nothing. He seemed to feel none of it. It was like the man wasn't quite human anymore. He pulled her even closer as he dragged her up the stairs and she could smell a hint of aftershave on him. At least her abductor had a sense of personal hygiene. More than she could say about most of the criminals in Starling City _Not relevant_ a voice in her brain interjected. Felicity thought it said something about her inner mind that the voice had sounded remarkably like Oliver.

"What are you doing to do to me?" Felicity stuttered as Slade placed her on a chair, before kneeling down and tying her wrists and ankles to the chair. She winced as the rope cut into her wrists, the bindings done too tightly. She wasn't Oliver by any means, so the extra precautions he seemed to be taking seemed a little superfluous in her opinion.

"We're going to have a little fun." Slade replied, smirking. "All you have to do is sit in that chair and scream upon command. Shouldn't be too hard given that I'm about to put a knife in your leg. And then your shoulder. And then your stomach."

Felicity stared at him in horror, furiously tugging at her bindings. Her previous assessment had been correct though; she wasn't going anywhere.

"Oh, and of course I'm going to film it. Only fair to let Oliver see your final moments on this Earth."

"You're crazy!" Felicity spat.

"Queen's the crazy one if he thinks he can save anything." Slade turned away from her and walked over to a low table by the wall. He picked up a hunting knife, before turning back towards her. "All he does is ruin people's lives. He destroyed my life, so I'm going to destroy his. It's his turn to watch the woman he loves die because of someone he thought was a friend."

"I'm sure whatever Oliver did, he didn't mean to hurt you."

"He didn't mean to drive an arrow through my eye then?"

"Oh." Felicity fell silent for a moment. "I'm sure we could talk this over and come to an arrangement. One that doesn't involve that knife coming anywhere near my body." Her eyes locked on the jagged blade, Slade stalking ever closer.

"Sorry, love." He even sounded slightly sincere. "But the kid has to pay, and it has to be you."

Felicity screamed as Slade drove the knife into her left thigh. She almost passed out from the pain, her mind telling her this was the end. This is how she would die. An image of Oliver and Dig flashed in front of her and then just Oliver. She regretted so much. She wished she could have been brave enough to tell him how she felt. Now she never would.

She creamed again and this time she did pass out when Slade pulled the knife out of her leg and plunged it into her shoulder.

On the other side of town, Oliver and John turned towards the computers in the Foundry as the screen lit up, an email notification popping up.

'Play me'.


	4. Broken

Oliver and Diggle stared in horror; the image of Felicity unconscious burned into their minds. Oliver could still hear her screams echoing in his ears. Slade's face filled the screen."

"Now maybe you'll understand how I felt when Shado died."

Oliver turned the computer screen off, unable to stand the sight of Slade.

"Can we trace the location?" Oliver asked John quietly. "She's still wearing her industrial piercing."

"I'll try to trace both her and the video GPS, but I'm not hopeful. He's been ten steps ahead of us this whole time." John sighed. "Unless the GPS is easily traceable, we'll need Felicity to work her magic. Not exactly an option right now.

"Just try, please." Oliver leant against one of the pillars in the Foundry, before slowly sliding down until he sat on the floor, defeated.

John sat down in Felicity's chair and opened the GPS tracker app Felicity had installed so she could track his and Oliver's movements when out in the field. Felicity's tracker was nowhere to be seen. He tried running a direct trace on it, but couldn't get a direct ping back. He turned his attention towards the video, copying the details over as quickly as possible, unwilling to let his eyes linger on the unconscious body of the woman he considered his sister. The video GPS came back with a general five block radius. Not amazing, but a start.

"Got a vague location." John called to Oliver, who had turned to the salmon ladder as a source of distraction.

"Where?"

"Five block radius in the middle of the Glades."

"Can you narrow that down anymore?" Oliver asked, although he already suspected that the answer would be. How they ever managed before Felicity had joined the team, he could not remember. He had to get her back. He couldn't do this without her.

"Not without Felicity. Sorry."

"I'll head out and case the area. Maybe there will be something there."

"You want back up?"

"Someone should stay in case we get anymore messages. "Oliver stated, though he dreaded what those messages might contain.

"Let me know if you find anything." John replied. "Go bring our girl home."

Oliver stood in the middle of the five blocks Diggle had directed him to. Now it was just a matter of finding something, anything to help Felicity. He wandered the streets, broke up a fight, prevented a mugging, but nothing Felicity related.

"Oliver, I decided to try to back trace Felicity's tracker to see if I could see where she was before the signal failed." John said over the comms to Oliver. "Took a bit longer than I expected given I'm not a tech whiz like Felicity, but I managed to pick it up after she left Verdant last night. The last signal came from two blocks south of you."

"Thanks Dig."

Oliver headed in the direction John pointed him and came to an intersection surrounded by apartment blocks that had been abandoned after the Undertaking. 'Great' thought Oliver sarcastically, 'just the forty-odd apartments to search'.

"Dig, can you go over the video footage again. Anything to narrow down the apartment?" Oliver asked. "Windows, basements?"

"Give me a minute." Dig sighed as he reluctantly reopened the video, determined to only focus on the background. "One window, but it's only partly in frame and only for a moment."

"Anything usable?"

"I think that there is a street visible, so probably ground floor apartment." John answered. "That's all I've got."

"Time to start knocking down doors then."

Oliver walked up tot he nearest building and tested the door. Unlocked. Most of these abandoned buildings were. Bow raised, he headed into the apartment on the left, then the right, but both were empty. He headed back to the street and jogged towards the next building. He would search every building in the Glades if he had to. His Girl Wednesday was coming home tonight.

This building was as empty as the last, as were the next two. Frustrated, Oliver crossed to the other side of the road and renewed his search. He slipped quietly through the outer door, pausing as he saw a slight light coming from the apartment door on his left. He pressed his finger over his comm, silently bleeping out Morse code to Dig, letting him know that he had found something.

He slowly opened the apartment door and stepped inside. He heard movement from further inside the apartment and moved towards it cautiously. He stepped around the corner. Felicity was sat in a chair less than ten meters away from him. Her eyes were barely open, but she was awake. His eyes roamed over her body taking everything in. There was a pool of blood beneath her chair from the wound on her leg and her blouse was soaked through. Slade stood slightly behind her; the knife he had used to stab her held loosely in his hand. The other contained his sword that was no longer strapped to his back.

"Felicity," Oliver started.

"She's not important right nor." Slade interrupted. "This is about you and me. Time to finish this once and for all."

Slade plunged the knife into Felicity's stomach and ran at Oliver dodging the arrow that flew his way.


	5. Found

Felicity slumped forward in the chair, the ends of her ponytail brushing the handle of the knife protruding from her stomach. She desperately tried to keep her eyes open, knowing she only had to hold on until Oliver could get to her. She tried to focus on the fight in front of her; Oliver in all his handsome glory ducking and weaving around Slade and his sword. But the images were blurred and she wasn't sure if if was from the lack of glasses or blood loss. She hoped the former. An irrational part of her brain wondered where her glasses were and she hoped Oliver would find them for her after he finished dealing with Slade.

Felicity's eyelids drooped, her eyes closing. The last view she had was Slade's blade slicing into the side of the Arrow, as Oliver failed to retreat fast enough.

Oliver winced in pain and backtracked away from Slade. His retreat took him closer to Felicity, but he did not dare turn and look at her. Instead he focused his mind on the fight ahead of him, praying that Felicity was strong enough to last that long.

"Give up, kid." Slade snarled. "You can't beat me."

"I did it once before, I'll do it again." Oliver replied. "You made a mistake Slide. You put her in danger. This time there's more than just my life on the line."

"Pity she'll be dead int eh next few minutes then."

"She's stronger than you could ever imagine." Oliver launched himself at Slade once again, ignoring the pain that came from the wound in his side. He stepped right avoiding the sword, then ducked underneath it and came up with an arrow in his hand. Slicing down with his arm, he drove the arrow into Slade's shoulder. Rolling away he regrouped, knowing that the arrow would merely slow his former friend down; killing him would take a lot more.

Slade winced and pulled the arrow out.

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that." Slade said, tossing the arrow to the side.

"I'm just getting started." Oliver replied.

"I've alerted Detective Lance. He and an ambulance are on route now." Dig said in his ear. "Should be with you in 5."

"Copy." Oliver grunted as he deflected another of Slade's blows. The force of it knocking him backwards. He pulled his final arrow out of his quiver and sighted it at Slade. Taking a breath, he released it. It flew true to his mark, but Slade sliced the arrow in half before it ever touched him. He moved forward and punched Oliver twice in the face, before hauling him off the floor and delivering another punch, this time to his stomach. Oliver collapsed on the floor, his hand landing in a pool of blood.

Felicity.

The sight of her blood covering his hand gave him the strength to stagger onto his knees. If he died in that building tonight then he died, but he would be damned if he let Felicity die down there with him. She had her whole life to live. She was a genius and would change the world with that brain of hers. That much he was certain of. She deserved better than to bleed to death in an abandoned building because of mistakes he made.

Twisting round, he reached up taking Felicity's face in his hands, kissing her forehead gently. Slade laughed behind him.

"It's too late to save her Oliver. Tonight, you both die."

Slade raised his sword with the intent of driving it down through Oliver's back and into Felicity. Oliver spun, yanking the knife out of Felicity's stomach and into Slade's heart. Slade dropped the sword in shock, staggering back before collapsing on the floor. Oliver spared him a glance, making she he was dead, before turning back to Felicity. Blood seemed from the now empty wound in her stomach. Oliver prayed that the ambulance would get here soon. He knew she didn't have long left.

He untied her from the chair and sunk down in the middle of the room not far from Slade's body, Felicity's head cradled in his lap. He ran his hand through her hair, releasing it from the elastic, letting it flow over his leg in long, wavy, blonde, and slightly matted locks.

He heard the cops arrive and the police, along with the paramedics burst through the apartment door, but her couldn't bring himself to move and hide in the shadows. He couldn't bring himself to leave her, even if that meant risking his identity.

The cops entered the room, guns drawn. Only Detective Lance's arm lowered upon seeing him sat there.

"Felicity." He gasped and crossed the room in long strides. "Get the paramedics now!"

"Save her," Oliver muttered, "please save her."

"Clear the room. Paramedics only." Lance ordered. "You need to leave." He said turning to the Arrow.

"Not until she's safe."

"There's nothing more you can do for her." Lance said. "Now go before I have to arrest you Queen."

Oliver looked up in shock. He had sometimes wondered if the Detective knew his real identity, but they had always stayed on the side of plausible deniability. Apparently, that was over.

"Detective..."

"Go. I'll meet you at the hospital once you've changed into something a little less conspicuous."

Oliver stood up and slipped out of the window just as the paramedics came rushing in. He grabbed his bike and headed back to the Foundry intent on getting to the hospital as quickly as possible. He just prayed that Felicity would still be alive when he did.


	6. Safe

Felicity blinked. Her eyes opened then slammed shut again. Too bright. She decided to try some other senses first. Sight could come later. She focused on her ears. She could hear whirring and steady beeping that sounded like some sort of machine. Where was she?

She slowly inched her eyes open, trying to get used to the light gradually. After a few attempts she could see out of her eyes fully, if somewhat blurry/ Glasses, she needed her glasses.

Looking around she recognised where she was. Hospital. God did she hate hospitals. Too many bad things happened in hospitals. It was the place she ended up every time she had an allergic reaction to peanuts. It was the place Oliver had so often ended up after a bad night out as the Arrow. Oliver!

It all came flooding back to her. Slade, the knife, and Oliver fighting for his life. She remembered the wound in his side and hoped that it hadn't been too serious.

How had she gotten here?

Something must have gone right. She doubted Slade would have gone through all of the trouble to stab her multiple times and kill Oliver only to drop her off a the hospital like a concerned citizen. The thought made her laugh. Pain shot through her. Okay, Maybe laughing was a bad idea. She closed her eyes and relaxed back into the pillows. No one was here at the moment and she was exhausted. Maybe she would just rest her eyes for a few minutes.

Felicity was woken by the sound of a door opening. Given the light difference in her room from earlier, she figured she had been asleep for a while; not just the couple of minutes she had planned.

She focused her eyes on the doorway, trying to identify the figure standing there. Oliver. Blurry as hell, but definitely Oliver. She would know that man anywhere.

"You're awake." he said softly. A smile spread across his face as the crossed to her bedside. "You had us worried there for a minute."

"How long was I out for?" Felicity asked. Her voice was weak and her throat dry. Oliver was in tune to her needs as ever and held out a glass of water, offering her a straw as well. Grateful, she took both in shaky hands and brought the straw to her lips. Oliver's hand wrapped around the glass, steadying it. She smiled in thanks and handed the glass back to him. "You never answered my question."

"Just under nine days."

"wow."

"Felicity," Oliver started, "I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen to you. I should have..."

"Oliver." She interrupted. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No. And I don't blame you. Or hate you." Felicity took a breath. "Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yes?" Oliver asked apprehensively.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?"

Oliver grinned. "Pretty sure that's normally my job to ask that."

"Oh stop being such a cave man. It's the 21st Century, women are perfectly capable of asking someone out on a date. Unless of course you don't want to?" Felicity backtracked. "In that case you should probably just say no and leave before I get any more embarrassed and..."

"Yes."

"Huh?"

"Yes, I'd love to take you on a date."

"Oh, okay than." Felicity smiled. "Cool."

"Get some rest, Felicity." Oliver said standing up. "I'm going to go let the doctors know you're awake and then I'm going to tackle the huge list of your friends that will want an update."

Oliver walked towards the door, pausing as he opened it, "By the way, Lance knows I'm the Arrow."

"Oliver!" Felicity called as he closed the door behind her. How could he just say something like that and leave? Didn't he know she needed details? She flopped back onto the bed, dating this guy was going to be real fun...


	7. First Date

Felicity stared at her bed. Not that she could see much of her bed given how many clothes she had thrown on it. She seemed to have emptied her entire wardrobe. She had twenty minutes until Oliver would be at her apartment and she was nowhere near ready. What do you wear on a first date? A date with a man that you've known for nearly two years, spent practically every day with (including weekends more often than she would like), and had seen more or less naked more times than she count.

Groaning, she sat down on the floor and leant against the bed. She hadn't been on a date in over three years. 'God, had it been that long? Way to go Felicity'. Her mind interjected, adding to the long list of anxieties she had about this evening. Glancing at the clock and realising she now had fifteen minutes to find an outfit, tame her hair and do her make-up. Great.

She decided she would choose three outfits and wear the middle one in terms of poshness (was that a word? It is now, Felicity decided). That was she would be prepared if she needed to dress up or dress down depending on what Oliver was wearing.

She hurried to get dressed. Deciding that she couldn't really go wrong with her hair down, she ran a brush through it, wincing at the tangles. She went with minimal make-up because she had never been one to wear much (except during her goth phase) and more importantly, she didn't have the time to do anything else.

A knock on her door brought her attention back to this evening. She hobbled over to the door, attempting to slip her heels on at the same time. Bad idea. She should never multi-task when it comes to moving or balancing. She wobbled and fell into the table by the front door.

"Ouch!"

"Felicity?!" Oliver's voice came through the door. "You okay?"

"Fine." Felicity replied, rubbing gently at her hip. Another injury. At least this one wouldn't scar. Her body had enough scars. The memories of Slade Wilson flooded into her mind and she was momentarily frozen in the hallway.

"Felicity?" Oliver's voice sounded worried.

"Coming." Felicity crossed the final few steps and unlocked the apartment door. "Sorry, just trying to do too many things at once." She stopped talking and gazed at the man in front of her. He looked exceptionally good. Not that he ever looked 'not good'. But dressed down in a pair of jeans and a Henley, he looked incredibly kissable.

"I won't object to being kissed." Oliver said smiling.

"I said that last part out loud, didn't I?" Felicity said, burying her head in her shoulder in embarrassment.

"Maybe. You look lovely."

"Is this okay? I mean, I didn't know where we were going, or if you had made plans at all, or if this was even a dress kind of date. Although you did say dinner in the text, so I assumed we'd be sat down, but now I'm thinking that that was an assumption I shouldn't have made, and now you're looking at me like I'm crazy and you're probably regretting ever agreeing to this date and I am going to shut up now." Felicity finished slamming her mouth shut.

"Nervous?"

"Mm-hmm." Felicity said, not trusting herself to fully open her mouth.

"Same." Oliver admitted. "It's stupid. What's there to be worried about? It's not like we don't know each other already."

"What if you realise that I'm really dull outside of tech stuff?"

"You could never be dull, Felicity." Oliver held out his hand and she slipped hers into it. She grabbed her purse and coat with her spare hand and joined Oliver on the doorstep. "Ready?"

Felicity nodded and led the way down the stairs and out to Oliver's car. She slid into the passenger seat of the Porsche, Oliver closing the door behind her.

They pulled up outside Table Salt. Felicity was glad that she had chosen a medium length dress instead of the short, gold, party dress she had originally considered wearing. Oliver got out and headed around the front of the car, opening Felicity's door on the other side. He tossed the keys to the valet and they headed up the steps to the restaurant.

"Queen, party of two." Oliver told the maître d' and gestured for Felicity to follow as she led them to a table in an alcove in the back.

"Secluded." Felicity commented after they had ordered their drinks. "I like it."

"Thought you might like something away from prying eyes. And cameras."

"Thanks." She replied. "How was work?"

"Hell, without you." Oliver grimaced. Felicity had taken a leave of absence from Queen Consolidated whilst she recovered from her kidnapping. She had enjoyed the first couple of weeks of freedom, catching up on the Netflix queue, but now she was bored out of her mind; itching to go back to work. Oliver however, was insistent that she take the full five weeks the doctors had recommended; she wasn't even allowed in the Foundry.

"I could always come back early." Felicity suggested, a slight smile on her face.

"No. You need the rest." Oliver replied. "Not that it wouldn't be useful. Could I just borrow your brain for a few days?"

"Did you, Oliver Queen, just make a joke?"

"Full of surprises me."

Felicity laughed. It was nice seeing this happy, carefree Oliver. It made a change from the serious, brooding version she normally dealt with. Felicity opened the menu and glanced over the options.

"What are you thinking of having?" Oliver asked.

"Probably the chicken parmigiana." Felicity answered. It had caught her eye and she was craving something that didn't sound like it was made in a take-away shop or sounded ridiculously foreign. She wasn't in the mood for something she couldn't pronounce.

"Sounds good." Oliver signaled the waitress and ordered two dished of chicken parmigiana along with another bottle of wine.

They spent their meal talking of QC and Team Arrow, of families and friend, of anything and everything that came to mind; conversation flowed easily between them. The hours passed quickly and soon they were one of the few couples still in the restaurant.

"Thank you for dinner." Felicity said as they got up to leave. She was reluctant to let the night end, but didn't know how to prolong it.

"You're welcome." Oliver replied. And as if having read her mind, "Room for a little more? There's an ice cream shop a couple of blocks away and before you ask, yes, they do mint chip."

"You known me so well."

"I try." He smiled and offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

"What about the car?

"We'll pick it up after."

They walked up the street, arm in arm ,chatting. This was quite possibly the best date she had ever been on. No. Scratch that. This definitely was the best date she had been on. There was something different about this, than any other date she had been on. Her dates with Cooper had mainly been a take-out followed by sex on the couch. It was a date to impress her, that's what was different. Cooper had never cared about that.

They turned left and headed up the next road. It wasn't long before they reached the ice cream shop.

"One mint chip and one vanilla please." Felicity said at the counter. She knew Oliver wouldn't want anything with too much flavour. He didn't really have a sweet tooth, unlike her. He claimed he used to before the island, but that was before she knew him. Maybe that was why she understood him so well; she never compared him to the old 'Ollie'.

He smiled at her as they sat down in one of the booths. "I'm not the only one who knows the other well."

"We certainly are a pair, aren't we."

"I'm glad you asked me out on this date." Oliver said. "We should have done this a long tome ago."

"You weren't ready." Felicity replied.

"I'm sorry." Oliver spoke, looking at the table. "I'm sorry it took almost losing you to see what was right in front of me."

"Technically, I was the one that asked you out."

"I was going to." He said defensively. "You just got there first."

"Of course, of course." Felicity replied sarcastically, but she couldn't help teh grin spreading across her face.

"How are you doing? After everything with Slade."

"Fine." She muttered. Slade was not exactly her favourite topic of discussion. "Fully recovered."

"I din't mean physically."

"I'm dealing."

"If you ever want to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks." Felicity covered Oliver's hands with her own, bringing one to her lips and kissing it softly before repeating her actions with the other hand. Oliver leaned over the table and took Felicity's face in his hands. He brought his lips to hers, kissing her gently.

He broke the kiss far too soon, in Felicity's opinion. Kissing him was everything that she had imagined and more. She never wanted to stop. Oliver chuckled as she pouted.

"Don't worry, I plan on doing that again before the night is over. Just not with so many people around. Preferably just you and me."

Felicity glanced around, but no one was paying attention to them. She had forgotten all about their surroundings. So focused on Oliver and their kiss, she had been completely oblivious tot he fact that they were still in public.

"Let's eat this ice cream and get out of here then."

They ate their ice cream in companionable silence, then left, wandering back the way they had come to find the car. The drive back to Felicity's apartment was short, but it gave her time to think. Were they moving too fast? The invitation of more kisses sounded marvelous, but would that lead to other things? Things that Felicity wasn't sure she was ready for. Not yet at least.

"Care to share whatever's going on in that brilliant brain of yours?" Oliver asked, as he pulled up outside her apartment.

"What did you mean by ' plan on doing that again'?"

"Just kissing. Unless you want more." Oliver twisted in his seat to face her. "I didn't come out tonight with the plan of having sex with you at the end of it. Not that I'm opposed to having sex with you. Completely the opposite in fact. But we'll take this relationship at whatever pace you want."

"Relationship? Did you just admit to being my boyfriend?"

"Only if you want me to be." He replied shyly.

"Sounds perfect to me." She leant in and kissed him. This time there was no hesitation, no gentleness about it. This kiss was raw desire and passion and boy, it made Felicity want to take him there and then. Pressing on his chest, she pulled reluctantly away. "Keep that up and sex will be on the table tonight. I should head inside."

"Of course." He got out of the car and once again opened her door for her. She really was loving this gentlemanly aspect of dating a billionaire. He walked her up to the front door of the apartment block. "Goodnight Felicity."

"Goodnight Oliver."

Felicity turned and slipped through the door, resting her head on the wood paneling after she closed it.

Best. Date. Ever.


	8. Nightmares

Oliver woke suddenly, Felicity beside him. He loved that they had progressed far enough in their relationship that he could stay over. He had initially worried that he would be unable to sleep with Felicity in the room. But she seemed to have the opposite effect. With her curled up in his arms he slept through the night; getting at least seven hours sleep instead of the three or four he usually managed alone.

He glanced over at Felicity trying to deduce that had caused him to wake. She was thrashing around on the bed, clearly stuck in a nightmare. Her legs flailed wildly, and Oliver realised that it had been her leg hitting his that had woken him. He ran his hand gently through her hair, his lips brushing her forehead in a kiss; an attempt to sooth her. It didn't work.

_'She felt the blade slicing through her body. Her leg was on fire, blood pouring out of the wound on the thigh. The blade in Slade's hand dripped with blood as he stared down at her smirking._

_"A knife in your leg. And then in your arm. And then in your stomach." Slade's words echoing around her; a reminder that more pain was still to come._

_She twisted and turned, but the bindings holding her to the chair held fast._

_"Or maybe I'll carve out your heart and give it to Queen on a plate." The knife descended towards her piercing her chest._

Felicity sat up screaming. Another night. Another nightmare. Always the same. Reality, with a twist. Of course, her brain would take the most horrific moment of her life and make it even worse. Her hand subconsciously trailed from her leg to her shoulder and then her stomach, pausing as it ghosted over each of her scars. It had been five months since Slade had kidnapped her, and barely a night had gone by that she hadn't dreamed of him; reliving the injuries and fear all over again.

The bedside lamp flicked on and Felicity yelped in shock. She had forgotten she wasn't alone tonight. Oliver. She had hoped sleeping beside him would chase the nightmares away. That the safety she felt when he was around during the day would extend into the night. No such luck. That dreams didn't care whether she was sleeping in her house alone, with Oliver or at Oliver's house. She had even tried sleeping at Diggle's for a couple of nights. It was no difference; the nightmares came all the same.

"You okay?" Oliver's voice was softly. He reached out a hand, pausing before it handed on her arm, giving her time to refuse the comfort should she not wish to be touched. She leant against his hand and it wasn't long before he pulled her towards him, engulfing her in his arms.

"Just hold me." Felicity muttered against his chest.

"Of course." Oliver's hand ran up and down her back, pausing to rub circles at random points. It was oddly therapeutic. The unpredictability allowed Felicity to focus on his movements instead of being pulled back into her memories. It wasn't the first time he had done this. She thought about how easily he drew her thoughts away from the dark, holding her, providing a tether to reality. He knew what it was like to be plagued by nightmares, to see the worst points of your life every time you closed your eyes.

He moved further up the bed until he was leaning against the headboard. He allowed Felicity to adjust so that she was comfortable and then continued his soothing circles on her back.

"You never talk about your nightmares." He said quietly. "What exactly do you see?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"It might help."

"You're one to talk." Felicity snorted. "Do I even know a quarter of what happened to you the five years you were away?"

"Just because I don't talk about my past, doesn't mean you shouldn't."

"Urgh!" Felicity slid off the bed, before rounding on Oliver. "Don't do this Felicity. Don't to that. Be careful. Don't take unnecessary risks. Talk about your past. You're such a hypocrite!"

Oliver stood up and took Felicity in his arms, holding her tight. She struggled against his chest before breaking down in tears. They stood by the bed for a couple of minutes, the only sound coming from the room was Felicity sobbing.

"Come back to bed and I'll make you a deal." Oliver said, kissing her gently. "A story for a story. You talk about one thing from that day and I'll tell you about one thing from the island."

"You don't have to do that, Oliver." She stepped out of his arms, wiping the tears from her face. "That wasn't me trying to coerce you into talking."

"I know. But you were right. You barely know anything about my past and I think maybe I'm ready to tell you."

"Okay."

They climbed back into bed, Oliver resting against the headboard once more with Felicity sat between his legs.

"Who goes first?" She asked.

"Dealer's choice."

"Could you?"

"Sure. Once upon a time..." Oliver chuckled as Felicity poked him in the side. "Isn't that how all stories start?"


End file.
